Ask Don’t Tell Leadership: Why Do I Need A Business Plan?

Why you need a business plan!!!

Q: In last week’s column, you gave advice about starting a business, and you kept preaching about writing a business plan. I own a business, I don’t have a plan, and I’m doing just fine. What’s the big deal?

A: How do you know your business is doing “fine” if you do not have a business plan? This is like a runner stating that he is “fast” when asked his running pace. Quality and success cannot be measured without having benchmarks and goals. A business plan provides both, allowing you to compare your outcomes to your goals. Without a plan, it is all too easy to keep moving the bar for yourself.

In the words of Alan Lakein, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” Business owners may neglect planning for a variety of reasons. They may dislike making decisions, or they may worry about how the plan will reflect their success. An owner may feel anxious about documenting (and making “official”) job descriptions, lines of authority, budgets, and marketing plans. An entrepreneur may dread such control measures, feeling that a business plan is just like having a boss! If you build a house without a plan, however, you may find yourself living in what looks like a child’s play fort. Every stage is based on a sudden inspiration, and your new home becomes “curiosity run wild.” A quality architect begins with his or her final product in mind. To build a secure business, you must plan.

According to the Small Business Center at Bradley University, 70 to 80 percent of new businesses fail in their first year, and of those that continue past a year, only half survive to five years. Similarly, statistics from Dun & Bradstreet reflect that only 37 percent of businesses with fewer than 20 employees will survive four years, and only 9 percent will survive ten years. In light of such daunting statistics, it seems foolish to take unnecessary risks – like failing to plan.

You may still be thinking, “I can’t make a plan, because things change too quickly.” Although constant change is inevitable in any business, a good plan can be your key to dealing with change. As a sailor, I view a business plan as similar to a centerboard on a small sailboat. Thanks to its centerboard, the boat can continue moving forward, as the winds shift direction; without its centerboard, the boat would flail around and eventually crash. A good plan keeps you consistently moving forward – sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly, but without crashing!

While writing your business plan, you may feel frustrated. After all, you will be writing your goals, without taking immediate action to reach them. You must understand where you are and where you are going, before going anywhere. Writing a plan can be exhausting, too. I guarantee, however, your listless feelings will disappear, as your business transforms from “doing just fine” to “doing very well.”

I hope my response to your question is sufficient and gives you an understanding of why I believe a business plan is critical. Below are some questions to consider while developing your plan:

• Why do I want to start my own business?
• Have I found the right business for me?
• Who are my customers?
• What do these customers need that the market is not currently providing?
• How will I reach them?
• What will it take to reach them?
• How much will it cost to provide for their unmet needs?
• How much are they willing to pay to meet these need?
• Can I make money at this business?

Public Speaking Basics For Starters

The content of the speech should match the information needed by the audience. Preparing the material carefully and specifically can ensure success on your public speaking endeavor. It will be helpful to tape record one’s own speech and then listen to it carefully. Do this in front of the mirror. This would tell you which are the strong points and which are the weaknesses of your speech.

Below are the most important things to take note of when invited to do a public speech:

ท Doing a speech is like performing as an actor on stage. The attire should be appropriate to the occasion. If the topic is serious, then be serious. The image should reflect the topic being presented. However, it does not mean that he has to look boring at all. Despite the seriousness of the topic, project yourself as an enthusiastic, lively, and confident speaker.

ท It is often said that the eyes are the windows to a person’s soul. Do eye contact when giving the speech presentation. Never ever stick to only one person in the room. Look at the people as if they’ve been long time friends and acquaintance.

ท The opener must be really catchy. This will get the audience’s attention. These people have a lot of things going on in their minds prior to hearing the speech presentation and a good eye opener of the speaker’s words would definitely get their minds into participating during the talk. An icebreaker will help; write the topic on a board and ask the audience what things they would want to hear about the topic. Lastly, never miss a good joke.

ท Make a pause. This will let the speaker and the listeners to reflect and absorb everything that has been said. Never look like someone who is already out of air.

ท Enhance presentations by using audio-visual materials. There should be plan A and B, so that if ever one plan does not work, there is an alternative that can be used.

ท Keeping track of the time is important so as not to bore the audience. Never go beyond the time allotted since there could be other speakers and listeners could also have other appointments.

ท Provide a main point of what has been discussed at the end.

ท Open the floor for questions and never fear not being able to answer each. Remember, prior to making that speech, necessary research should have been made.

ท Enjoy the whole experience. The audience can feel any discomfort that the speaker is feeling at the moment. Do not make pretensions, just relax as long as the topic is well researched and clear. The image projected is often remembered more than the topic discussed anyway.

Getting Your Message Across With Good Rapport

I bet you have had times when you have walked into a shop and felt immediately welcome. I’m also pretty sure that you’ve had occasions where you’ve felt just the opposite. What was the difference? What happened in the place that created that welcome feeling within you?

Maybe the assistant noticed you entering and offered you a smile and said hello. They are telling you that you are welcome in their space both physically and mentally. Compare this with a shop where you were completely ignored until you went to pay for something. What message are you getting there?

What is rapport?

Rapport is the art of being ‘in tune’ with the people around you. Good rapport will enable you to let others know that you are interested in them, that you care about what they have to say and are keen to understand them. It sends them a message that there is common ground and creates a sense of consideration, respect and trust.

Good rapport lies at the heart of your effective communication. It enables you to get people’s attention and for them to take onboard what you have to say. Good rapport comes from body language and how you say things through the tonality and rhythm of your voice. Together, body language and how you say your words make up 93% of your communication. What you say is only 7%!

Of course, when interacting with others our communication can be non-verbal using just our body language. How are you communicating right now?

I’m sure that you have experienced a situation where within a group of people one person makes a suggestion and you just know that others don’t agree – even if they remain silent. What tells you that they don’t agree and feel comfortable with the suggestion? Those of you who are in agreement will probably be sharing the same body language; they may be more animated in the discussion, and as such will be actively buying in to the idea.

Those that disagree can do so without having to say or do a thing. All they need to do is withdraw their rapport in some way; maybe though pulling back in their seat, crossing their arms, closing their book or leaving the room. Maybe, through all those things if they really wanted to make a point!

So, assuming that we have some words to say, how can we maximise our tonality and body language to ensue that we have good rapport when saying them?

How to get into rapport with people.

Matching and mirroring are the two main ways to establish rapport. People that are in rapport have a certain rhythm to their voice and body movements.

Voice Tonality and Rhythm. This is 38% of your communication. The tone of your voice and the pace that you talk affects the message that you are trying to portray. People use different tones and speeds when talking. Do your best to adjust your voice to come closer to their way of talking.

Try it yourself – say something cheerful in a sad voice and see how it comes across, then switch it around and say something sad in an upbeat voice. What message are you receiving in each case?

What about when someone is talking to you and you are distracted by something else, maybe something you see? Does your voice respond in an interested manner, and does your body language bear this out?

Body language. How you hold and use your body makes up 55% of your communication. Use your body to match people’s body movements. There will be a certain pattern and rhythm to their movements that you can copy.

It’s wise to pay attention to this even if you have good intentions for doing otherwise. You could easily be misinterpreted.

How about if that shop assistant smiles and says hello but without looking at you – does that feel the same? Maybe she was preparing next week’s stock.

What if two assistants are chatting while you are in their shop even whilst politely serving you? Does the rapport exist between them or between you and them?

What if in a work environment you ask somebody to do something for you and they agree quite nicely but you can see them tense up or see their body sink slightly lower in their chair? Are they really happy to do this for you or are speech and body telling different stories?

All together now!

The next time you communicate think about rapport a little. Is it good or not? What makes it good? How could you use your body language and voice to improve rapport?

And stick with it. It can seem odd at times whilst you practice but when it becomes second nature you’ll become a more natural communicator.

How To Become An Opinion Leader…

“How do I get good people to listen to me?”

When’s the last time you asked yourself that?

Part of the reason marketers everywhere have such a tough time getting people to listen to them is because their audiences (i.e., us) don’t believe them entirely.

So how can they become an opinion leader?

Problema…

We all know the marketers are “selling” whatever (they’re professionals aren’t they?) and that they’ll say whatever nice words and make whatever promises they have to, to make the sale.

So we, as marketers, are suspect. Yes, including network marketers. Because a normal consumer doesn’t know if we say the nice things to sell it and make a few shekels, or because we really love it ourselves.

Here’s the good news…

We ALL like to buy stuff, don’t we? So ask yourself: What kind of person do YOU most like to buy FROM?

Here’s what I do. For anything that matters, I seek out a member of the club, so to speak.

As an avid tennis lover, if I’m thinking about a new tennis racquet, I’d not go to Wal-Mart to buy one. Instead, I have usually gone to a good tennis coach, took a lesson or two, and asked them for a recommendation. I go to the best tennis places and people I can find. Because I love tennis.

And yes, of course I know the person or shop is making something on the sale, I don’t care. What matters is that they know and love their tennis.

Say you, as a consumer, know that nutrition matters. You know you need to supplement. And you want whole food based products, no synthetics.

Or you’re someone concerned about how your skin looks, and you believe that the ingredients in the skin care products you use make a difference. E.g. no chemicals or no animal products.

So who would YOU rather buy from?

A. The sales rep who sells various nutritionals or skin care products as part of their ‘line’,

or

B. Someone who cares about nutrition like you do, or about skin care and chemical-free products like you do, and who sells a specific line because THEY love it and use it themselves, too?

This is where network marketers have a very big edge over regular marketers. If you sell it because YOU love it – because of how it helped you – you are like the tennis coach recommending a racquet so an aspiring player. You are an instant ‘opinion leader’ to tennis players and tennis player wannabes.

The regular marketers are all abuzz about what it takes for a corporate spokesperson to be perceived as an opinion leader, so they’ll be listened to when they deliver their product pronouncements.

In a survey by a prestigious PR firm, they asked, “Who is a respected opinion leader?”

Findings:

“68 percent of respondents said: ‘A person like yourself or your peer’ is the most credible spokesperson about your company.”

Isn’t that what we just said? A member of the club (or even more passionate than you), or your peer or better? Someone like you or even more so?

Regular marketers have a much bigger hill to climb than network marketers. Many don’t use what they market, and they don’t market it because the products have changed their lives. They are usually NOT a member of the community of those who care about X.

They just try to sell stuff to people who care about X.

People who care about X, being consumers, don’t like buying from people who really don’t care about X in their own hearts and lives.

We want to buy X from X lovers.

X lovers are X opinion leaders.

An Effective Style To Use In Public Speaking: Audience Participation

An effective public speaker should be able to utilize devices that will be able to capture the attention of the audience. One effective means for them to give you that much needed interest is this: get them to go on stage. Make them participate. When someone is on stage and he or she happens to be a member of the audience, the rest will almost always stay attentive. Why? Because they would like to see what you will be doing to one of them. Also, because they are thinking they could be up there themselves and so to save their precious egos from embarrassment they at least need to know what is going on.

No matter how good or excellent you are as a presenter or as a public speaker, nothing beats the excitement of getting someone to be on stage who really should not be there in the first place. What is going through their minds at that moment when you pull an unsuspecting someone from their complacency is that, “Oh my god, what if the speaker selects me to go up there next? What am I going to do?” Then later, “I need to pay attention to this.” A little bit later as you go through your presentation, the audience will then most probably think, “What point is he/she making?” And then as you take your point across, the audience will then get to think, “Now I get it.” Because you made them pay attention, you have forced them to listen and respond to your statement in the privacy of their minds.

However, there are those extremely shy and very sensitive members of the audience who might withdraw from going through the rest of your presentation if they hear you will be calling on them up on the stage. The objective is to gain an audience and not to lose any of them.

Make it clear prior to your asking someone to come up on stage with you that you are asking for a volunteer and that no one will be forced if they do not want to. Notice that if the majority of your audience are shy, once you finally get someone to be on stage, all of them will almost always heave a sigh of relief that you would actually feel a breeze pass you by, really.

Another way to get the audience to participate as well as pay attention is by giving them due recognition. Try to acknowledge a single member of the audience for a specific achievement or a moment of a good performance, or also acknowledge a group of the audience.

Ontario Sports and Olympic Youth Academy (OOYA) shape our leaders beyond the 2010 Winter Olympics

Leadership in our Canadian youth is pervasive and active. As a volunteer, I was witness and observer to an extraordinary 4-day conference hosted by the University of Ottawa (May 11-14). This year’s theme was “Making a Difference”. The delegates to this 2006 Ontario Olympic Youth Academy, were fifteen Ontario students representing their high schools. These students confirmed that our youth will bring a new order of leadership to this country, their province and their communities.

OOYA is sponsored by Sport Alliance of Ontario, OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations), and the Canadian Olympic Committee.

The Ontario Olympic Youth Academy is held each year and serves 2 purposes:

1. 1) To share the magic of The Olympic Games in a ‘hands on’ format by debating, discussing, discovering, meeting, networking, playing, laughing in an active & dynamic 4-day conference.
2. 2) To meet Olympic athletes, coaches, organizers and managers and hear them speak about the impact The Olympic Games has had on their lives.

Working long hours, this group of engaging teenagers were involved in interactive presentations and group workshops. Through the team sports of Dragon Boat Racing and a modified Olympic Games event, the group showed their ability to focus as a unit and meet goals. The delegates developed Sports and Exercise programs that can easily and immediately be introduced in their respective schools and communities. Programs are like:

1. 1) “Clean Play Starts with a Clean Place to Play”,
2. 2) “Mini Olympic Days” to promote a healthy and active lifestyle to Grades 5 & 6,

are designed for both athletes and non-athletes and help shape high school students into leaders.

Appearance by guest speakers included:

1. 1) Sue Holloway, Honorary Chair of OOYA – Silver and Bronze Olympic Medalist for kayaking (1980-Los Angeles). Ms. Holloway is the first female to compete in both the Summer and Winter Olympics (1976 – kayaking and cross-country skiing).
2. 2) Shaunna Burke – second Canadian female to reach the summit of Mount Everest (spring 2005).
3. 3) Pierre Lafontaine, CEO Swimming Canada – recently, Head coach for Australian Institute of Sport, and before that the Phoenix Swim Club of Arizona. Mr. Lafontaine led 4 and 8 medal swimmers to Olympic victories in 2004 and 2000 respectively.
4. 4) Marg McGregor – Chef de Mission 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England.
5. 5) Greg Joy – Silver Medalist and world record for high jumping 1976 Montreal Olympics.
6. 6) Marc Leger – 2005 Canadian delegate at the International Olympic Academy in Greece.
7. 7) Dr. Gene Sutton, Chair OOYA and National Olympic Academy, Director of the COC Board, and Canada’s Chef de Mission for the 2003 Pan American Games team.
8. Michael Chambers – President Canadian Olympic Committee (COC).

These speakers had a profound impact on the delegates. The Academy ended on a high note with an emotional closing ceremony during which each delegate lit a candle from the 1988 Calgary Olympic Winter Games Torch!

However subtle, a key message was woven throughout the conference presentations by the Canadian Olympic athletes, Olympic coaches, and Sports executives. And that message: to have these future leaders consider sports management, sports coaching, and sports education as career options. This message was effectively introduced and appreciated by the delegates. Some delegates openly shared their renewed consideration for sports education/management as a career choice.

Currently, there are a number of active Provincial/Territorial (PTOAs) Olympic Youth Academy Programs:

1. 1) Quebec Youth Olympic Academy
2. 2) Ontario Olympic Youth Academy
3. 3) Alberta Youth Olympic Symposium
4. 4) BC Olympic & Paralympic Youth Leadership Academy
5. 5) Nunavut Youth Olympic Academy

As a youth sport educational forum, the various Olympic Youth Academies, are an excellent way to introduce Canadian Youth to career and volunteer opportunities and rewards associated with national, provincial, community sports management/coaching, and sports education. The Olympic Youth Academies provide an expanded opportunity to share the Canadian Olympic Dream whether as an athlete, a coach, an organizer or a volunteer.

Expanding and funding the Olympic Youth Academy Programs to each and every Canadian Province and Territory has been an ongoing initiative of the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC). Each province should embrace this youth leadership forum. It is a perfect program to parallel the COC initiative Own the Podium 2010

A Leadership Secret: Replace Goals With Processes Using The Shared Dream

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link.  Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com

Word count: 1082

I bring leadership processes that help leaders get more results faster continually.  The results will come in a specific length of time.  The results will go beyond what the leaders are achieving now.   The results can be measured, validated, and used as springboards for even more results. The results can be translated into money saved/earned.  The results can’t be achieved without the help of Leadership Talks.  And yet …

Yet … getting this big jump in results scares many leaders and can lead to burn out in the people they lead.

You’d think leaders would welcome such results.  No such luck. Here’s why: They see results as a point not a process.

Seeing results in this way prevents you from getting the more substantial results you’re really capable of.  Look, results are limitless.  Those who don’t know that don’t know much about leadership.  Those who believe that must believe in the process-reality of results.

Let’s look at the difference between a goal and a process.  You’ve been dealing with goals and processes your whole career, but it’s important to your success to see the difference in leadership terms.

A goal is the result or achievement toward which effort is directed.  A process is a continuous series or actions or changes. A goal can hinder results.  (The word goal derives from an Old English word, “gaelan”  meaning “to hinder.”) A process can multiply them.

I worked with the head of the head of manufacturing of a global company.  Responding to relentless cost cutting pressures, he was continually setting formidable quarterly stretch goals on quality and productivity.

The line workers were meeting the goals; but upon reaching one summit of goals, they inevitably faced another (the next quarterly goals) and were getting burned out.

I suggested that to avoid this burn out, they look at the results not in terms of quarterly goals but in terms of processes.  I gave him a two-step process to do it.

(1) Define your goals.  The manufacturing division had to deliver numbers to corporate, productivity increases, quality advancements, etc.  Those numbers were goals they had to absolutely meet.  Meeting them was vital to their jobs and careers.

Viewing them as the right goals and adhering to their commitment to meet those goals are necessary first steps in translating those goals into processes.

2. Apply the Shared Dream.  The Shared Dream can be one of the most powerful tools in leadership.  Yet few leaders I know are aware of it, if not in name at least in activity.

Leadership processes are the best processes, and the Shared Dream is one of the best of the best.  Because it is one key way we can translate results into processes.

Translating results into processes involves:
*a team effort; it cannot be done simply by fiat.
* the ardent commitment of all parties concerned, people can’t be left out or left behind.
*continual and systematic support, evaluation and monitoring of the processes.
*the application of the Shared Dream.

What is the Shared Dream?   It is simply the uniting of your vision as a leader and the dream of the people you lead then using the union to get great results.

For instance, the manufacturing division was supposed to get 3 to 5% reduction in costs per year, irrespective of inflation.

To make the yearly goals, the division had to meet quarterly benchmarks.  The problem was that the cost reductions were the division’s and the company’s vision, not really the line-workers dream.

The employees dream, we found out through a number of facilitated on-the-site meetings, was predominately job security.  (That was a pretty obvious finding but one we needed to nail down with interactions with the employees.)  Lower cost overseas manufacturing was cutting into the company’s margins.  The threat was real that they would close shop in the states and take the manufacturing overseas.

So, there was a gap between vision of the division leaders, constant cost reductions, and the dream of the division workers, job security.

Of course, you might say that cost reductions were in fact all about job security.  But the employees didn’t see it that way.  “That’s the malarkey the suits feed us,” said one worker.

The idea was to have them move from being goal-oriented to being process-oriented.  That change of viewpoint needed a change of commitment.

Without a Shared Dream, with the goals not transformed into processes, people were getting burned out, going through the motions, anger, suppressing, tired, wanting out.

The division leader got together with the employees in a number of on-the-job meetings and talked about their dream.  They came up with the idea that if their manufacturing was competing in the world market place, the best way to compete was to become  “world class” manufacturing enterprise.

The people researched the requirements of being world class manufacturing, using top world manufacturers are benchmarks.  They came up with eight quantitative measures that defined “world class.”  These measurements included continual productivity and quality increases, speed of throughput, etc.

By the way, when I say “people” I mean this came from the rank and file.  Representatives of workers groups participated.

Together, the leaders and rank and file, put together action programs to meet those targets.  Those action programs were processes.  In essence, they put together a Shared Dream.  They changed results into processes.

“Let’s meet those targets together!” is a Shared Dream if they and you want it badly.  It’s not a Shared Dream if it’s your vision — you have to get quarterly decreases.

Your vision is not motivational unless it matches their dream.  Just because it is your vision does not mean it is their dream.  Don’t confuse your order for their dream.  A gap between vision and dream handicaps organizations.

Here is the Shared Dream process.
– Define Your Vision
– Define their dream.
– Combine the vision and dream to get the Shared Dream.
– Test the Shared Dream.
– Describe the rewards and punishments of achieving or failing to achieve the Shared Dream.
– Make the final cut at describing the Shared Dream.
– Implement the Shared Dream as a trigger for turning goals into processes.
-– Monitor and evaluate the progress.

One might say, “That’s a lot of trouble to go through.  Why don’t you just tell them what they have to do and make them do it?”

But that’s the point.  Your ordering them is far different in terms of results outcomes than their motivating themselves to make it happen.  And it won’t happen unless you go through the rigorous process of turning their goals into processes using the Shared Dream.

2006 ฉ The Filson Leadership Group, Inc.   All rights reserved.